Hypersonic Missiles, Imperial Wars, and Resistance: The New US-Russia Clash in Latin America

[00:00:07] [music] All right, so we're switching [00:00:09] gears now to another flash point, which [00:00:11] is Venezuela. Now, it's no secret that [00:00:14] the Trump administration is pushing for [00:00:16] what the US wanted to do in Venezuela [00:00:19] for over a quarter of a century, which [00:00:22] is regime change and to completely quash [00:00:25] the Bolivarian revolution inside of [00:00:28] Venezuela. But Latin American countries [00:00:30] are not quietly accepting this. Trump's [00:00:33] Summit of the Americas has been [00:00:34] cancelled this week due to stiff [00:00:37] opposition, primarily from Mexico and [00:00:40] Colombia, to Washington's regime change [00:00:43] plans and its military actions inside of [00:00:46] the Caribbean. And Russia has said it's [00:00:48] open to arming Venezuela with hypersonic [00:00:50] missiles. These could carry nuclear [00:00:52] warheads that are uninterable. Russia [00:00:55] has already provided Venezuela with [00:00:58] Pantisir S1 and BU-M2E [00:01:02] missiles already. So, President Nicholas [00:01:05] Maduro has given the order to arm the [00:01:08] country's patriotic militias totaling [00:01:11] some 8 million people and the government [00:01:14] is handing out rifles. Now we have the [00:01:17] recent Nobel Priest Peace Prize winner [00:01:20] Maria Korina Machado who just can't wait [00:01:23] to be the next dictator of Venezuela to [00:01:26] sell her country to the highest bidder. [00:01:28] And she's already claiming that Hamas is [00:01:31] operating inside of Karakas, paving the [00:01:34] way for US intervention. So joining me [00:01:37] now to talk about the situation inside [00:01:40] of Venezuela and this military buildup [00:01:43] are journalists Camila Escalante and [00:01:45] Alan Mloud. Camila is an editor at [00:01:48] Kawasachan News, an alternative media [00:01:51] outlet based in Bolivia reporting on [00:01:53] Latin America. And Alan Mloud, of [00:01:56] course, is our senior investigative [00:01:58] journalist and staff writer and producer [00:02:00] of this show. He published a very [00:02:02] important book, Bad News from Venezuela: [00:02:05] 20 years of misreporting. Make sure to [00:02:08] check that out. Thank you both for [00:02:10] joining me today. [00:02:14] >> Thanks for having me, Minar. And good to [00:02:16] see you as well, Alan. [00:02:18] >> Good to be back with you. [00:02:21] >> So, Camila, I want to start with you. [00:02:23] Um, right now the United States has a [00:02:26] massive military buildup in the [00:02:28] Caribbean pointing to Venezuela for this [00:02:32] regime change operation. I think a lot [00:02:34] of people are curious to know the [00:02:37] military capabilities and arsenal um [00:02:41] that Venezuela has considering it's been [00:02:43] a sanctioned nation, but it's also been [00:02:45] a nation that has been preparing itself [00:02:47] for this very moment of a US military [00:02:51] operation. [00:02:54] Right. Well, Russia and Venezuela [00:02:57] recently signed some agreements to [00:02:59] strengthen cooperation in the area of [00:03:01] security, and we don't know what exactly [00:03:04] that entails. I don't think they're [00:03:05] going to be going around bragging about [00:03:07] it because the intent of the Bolivarian [00:03:09] government of Venezuela is not to [00:03:11] provoke anything beyond what's already [00:03:14] taking place in the Caribbean Sea. They [00:03:17] want peace. They've been living in peace [00:03:19] for a very long time. uh free of a lot [00:03:22] of these attacks and destabilization [00:03:24] attempts that we saw during the years of [00:03:27] Guyaido and prior to that. And they want [00:03:29] to maintain uh Venezuela as a peaceful [00:03:33] country and of course they're [00:03:35] prioritizing dialogue and diplomacy when [00:03:39] possible and they're not in any sort of [00:03:42] conflict with the United States as far [00:03:44] as Venezuela is concerned. It's purely [00:03:46] an aggression that's coming from the [00:03:49] United States. any attack that takes [00:03:52] place is coming unilaterally from the [00:03:54] United States and all the aggression [00:03:56] that we're seeing in the Caribbean Sea [00:03:58] is a one-way thing. Venezuela is not [00:04:00] doing anything. Uh but Venezuela is [00:04:04] counting on the military technology of [00:04:07] Russia. So, you know, we're not going to [00:04:10] know quite all the details of that, but [00:04:12] we know that Venezuela does have S uh [00:04:15] have Sue30s and S300 missiles and that [00:04:18] it can defend itself and also shoot down [00:04:21] US fighter jets and even strike uh [00:04:25] aircraft carriers if necessary. But [00:04:28] they're hoping that it doesn't get to [00:04:29] that. They're conducting drills on all [00:04:33] of their massive borders and they also [00:04:36] have the millions of people that make up [00:04:38] the Boulevard National Civilian Militia [00:04:41] which are uh just regular people who are [00:04:44] now or some of them have previously [00:04:47] received training from the Bolivarian [00:04:50] National Armed Forces on how to do [00:04:53] things like operate guns. And in fact, [00:04:56] the Bolivarian government of President [00:04:58] Nicholas Maduro is arming these people [00:05:00] so that they can also fight to defend [00:05:03] their country. Something you don't see [00:05:05] in other countries. And this is only [00:05:07] possible, of course, because Venezuela [00:05:10] refounded its military and has a [00:05:13] revolutionary armed forces that it can [00:05:16] count on and which has stood by the [00:05:19] president throughout all of the [00:05:22] harassment, threats, and attacks that [00:05:24] have take pla taken place over recent [00:05:26] years and in particular since 2019 when [00:05:30] the United States tried to install Juan [00:05:32] Guyaido and tried to force a who during [00:05:36] Trump's first administration. Now, we're [00:05:39] seeing these um these strikes on vessels [00:05:44] in the Caribbean Sea as well as in the [00:05:47] Pacific Ocean, which is not uh [00:05:50] surrounding Venezuela necessarily, but [00:05:52] these are very hostile attacks, but [00:05:54] they're actually just terrorist attacks [00:05:56] that we're seeing by the US regime that [00:05:59] threaten Venezuela's sovereignty and the [00:06:01] sovereignty of all countries of Latin [00:06:03] America and the Caribbean. and it's [00:06:05] being widely rejected uh which I'm sure [00:06:08] we'll talk about a lot more uh as as our [00:06:11] conversation progresses. [00:06:13] >> All right. So one of the important [00:06:14] developments of the week is that during [00:06:16] the summit of the Americas which is a [00:06:19] you know US dominated regional gathering [00:06:22] of leaders has been cancelled or [00:06:25] officially delayed until uh next year it [00:06:28] looks like due to the widespread [00:06:30] opposition from Latin American nations [00:06:32] to Trump's interventionism in Latin [00:06:35] America. I mean, we're definitely seeing [00:06:37] um a change of tone when it comes to the [00:06:40] United States um United States [00:06:43] aggression here towards Venezuela. So, [00:06:46] Alan, if you can tell us more about why [00:06:48] it was cancelled and why this is [00:06:50] actually a really big deal. [00:06:56] United States calls Latin America its [00:06:58] own backyard and it has done for 200 [00:07:00] years. But that doesn't mean that [00:07:02] everyone in the entire region agrees [00:07:04] with that. And when the United States [00:07:06] just openly and blatantly talks about [00:07:08] regime change in another country, [00:07:10] invading another country, even [00:07:12] right-wing nationalists often in Latin [00:07:15] America get the hump with this. They [00:07:17] don't like to think of their uh entire [00:07:20] nations as being the playthinks of [00:07:22] Donald Trump. So when Trump goes around [00:07:24] uh just insinuating that he might invade [00:07:27] Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Cuba, who [00:07:30] knows, they don't really like that. And [00:07:32] not only that, the regional situation is [00:07:34] pretty interesting that there is a split [00:07:36] of uh quite um powerful and influential [00:07:39] anti-imperialist blocks in the region. [00:07:41] And I'm thinking specifically about the [00:07:44] governments of Mexico and Colombia led [00:07:46] by Claudia Shinebomb and Gustavo Petro [00:07:49] respectively who have really come to [00:07:51] Venezuela's aid and put a principal [00:07:53] stance on this saying we do not accept [00:07:57] uh uh interference in uh foreign [00:08:00] countries. We do not accept the bad old [00:08:02] days of the 20th century. We don't want [00:08:04] to go back to that when the United [00:08:05] States would just invade countries at [00:08:07] will. And so Mexico and Colombia, two of [00:08:09] the most powerful, most populous uh [00:08:12] largest countries in the region, have [00:08:14] put up some significant um opposition to [00:08:17] this, telling Trump in no small terms [00:08:19] that they will not be heading to this [00:08:21] summit if uh this continues. And so [00:08:24] ultimately Trump, Marco Rubio, and the [00:08:27] clique around um uh around Washington [00:08:31] has uh pulled back and decided to [00:08:33] officially delay this um summit. um as [00:08:37] you said it was supposed to be going on [00:08:39] uh very soon but um it's simply not [00:08:41] going ahead because Trump knows that [00:08:43] it's going to be a huge PR disaster for [00:08:45] him getting lectured by certain [00:08:47] countries saying we don't want regime [00:08:49] change and also from the prospect of [00:08:52] sort of mass resignation where uh heads [00:08:54] of states simply don't go to this um to [00:08:57] this event. So they decided to uh take [00:08:59] the easy way out and um just cancel it [00:09:02] or officially delay it for a little [00:09:04] while. And Alan, could you just go over [00:09:06] some of these neocon war hawks that are [00:09:09] based here in the United States and how [00:09:12] they're using uh US media, even Maria [00:09:15] Machado, the Nobel Peace Prize winner, [00:09:17] to really push for this US uh war of [00:09:20] aggression with Venezuela. [00:09:24] >> Yes. Well, we're speaking in the wake of [00:09:27] the passing of the uh not so great Dick [00:09:29] Cheney, one of the greatest uh hawks [00:09:31] we've seen in Washington's uh uh recent [00:09:34] history. Unfortunately, the neocons have [00:09:37] found themselves uh a comfortable space [00:09:39] in the Trump administration. Perhaps [00:09:41] most importantly of all, Marco Rubio, [00:09:43] who is Secretary of State, head of USAD. [00:09:46] He's got so many titles, it's it's [00:09:48] really unbelievable the amount of power [00:09:50] Rubio has. Rubio himself is a [00:09:53] CubanAmerican and has made Latin America [00:09:56] his particular interest for his entire [00:09:58] political career. Uh he has typical [00:10:02] Cuban American views which are um deeply [00:10:05] conservative, one might say reactionary. [00:10:07] In fact uh when we look at Latin [00:10:09] America, he has pushed for uh more [00:10:12] intervention, more wars, more US [00:10:14] involvement in uh so many countries. He [00:10:17] is constantly uh agitating for the [00:10:20] overthrow of the Cuban government, the [00:10:22] Nicaraguan government, the Venezuelan [00:10:24] government, before it, the Bolivian [00:10:25] government under Evo Morales. And you [00:10:29] know, they they they they start thinking [00:10:31] about some sort of ridiculous um excuse [00:10:33] for this. And right now it's the drug [00:10:35] war, which has never really been fought [00:10:37] against drugs, of course, because [00:10:39] everybody knows the best way of dealing [00:10:41] with drug wars with education and [00:10:43] counseling in your own country. you [00:10:45] don't go to other countries to bomb the [00:10:46] crap out of these places to um actually [00:10:49] prevent drugs coming in. But, you know, [00:10:52] Rubio has used this excuse to try to [00:10:55] push his decadesl long agenda of [00:10:57] overthrowing socialist or [00:10:58] anti-imperialist governments in uh Latin [00:11:01] America. and he's found a willing ally [00:11:04] in some Venezuelans, like you said, [00:11:06] Maria Karina Machado, who is a far-right [00:11:09] opposition leader who her entire career [00:11:12] has basically been spent at the knee of [00:11:14] Washington, learning from before Trump [00:11:17] and Biden. It was George Bush. You know, [00:11:19] she went to uh the Oval Office in 2005 [00:11:22] to meet George Bush. That's how far it [00:11:24] goes back. And since at least 2002, her [00:11:27] organization, her political group, [00:11:29] Sumate, has been sponsored by the NE, [00:11:32] which is a cutout organization of the [00:11:35] CIA. And this is really how so many [00:11:37] people in the right of Venezuelan [00:11:39] politics actually work. They don't have [00:11:41] that large a political base, but because [00:11:44] they have access to enormous amounts of [00:11:46] wealth and also the prestige and the [00:11:50] power that uh American politicians and [00:11:52] American media can um can give them. [00:11:56] They're really given ideas above their [00:11:58] station like for example Juan Guyaido [00:12:00] who proclaimed himself president and for [00:12:02] years walked around the country you know [00:12:05] insisting that he was the real president [00:12:06] and the United States would take this [00:12:08] seriously and even give him billions of [00:12:10] dollars to try to fund this dream and [00:12:13] machado is the last uh the latest in [00:12:15] this uh succession. It seems very likely [00:12:18] that this is not going to work given her [00:12:21] tanking numbers in Venezuela. Certainly [00:12:23] last year she was uh perhaps the most [00:12:25] powerful opposition leader, but her [00:12:27] constant calls for uh the United States [00:12:30] and sometimes indeed Israel to attack, [00:12:33] bomb, and um invade the country has [00:12:36] really lost her support even among [00:12:38] right-wing Venezuelans who don't like [00:12:40] the idea of their country being turned [00:12:43] into the next Libya or the next Gaza or [00:12:45] the next Afghanistan because they've [00:12:47] seen for decades now what neoon uh US [00:12:51] intervention does around the world. And [00:12:54] you know that's Dick Cheny's legacy. A [00:12:56] legacy of millions of lives destroyed, [00:12:58] millions of people killed, tens of [00:13:00] millions of people forced to flee their [00:13:01] homes, entire regions of the world being [00:13:04] destroyed. That is the reality of the US [00:13:06] empire. And that is what Venezuelans [00:13:08] absolutely don't want to see. And [00:13:10] certainly governments around Latin [00:13:11] America don't want to see another failed [00:13:13] state in their region because they know [00:13:15] uh what what might happen because of [00:13:17] that. So, I'm very happy to see that [00:13:19] regional governments are pushing back on [00:13:21] this and um yeah, long may it continue. [00:13:24] >> Yeah, I mean we I just did an explainer [00:13:26] on uh Sudan, [00:13:29] you know, breaking down and dissecting [00:13:31] the architecture of US imperialism and [00:13:34] how it targets countries that push back [00:13:36] against uh the US dollar [00:13:39] and seek independence and how the export [00:13:43] of US imperialism is very simple. It's [00:13:45] just creating a failed state, dividing a [00:13:47] nation, creating civil war, strife, [00:13:49] starvation, genocide, just like what we [00:13:51] saw in Sudan and what we saw in Gaz. And [00:13:55] I just want to point out for those who [00:13:57] are watching that Allan has gone viral [00:13:59] so many times for using the Juan Guyaido [00:14:04] uh as the interim president. Um such a [00:14:06] brilliant meme that you've helped [00:14:08] establish. But Camila, I want to turn to [00:14:10] you. [cough and clears throat] [00:14:12] Excuse me. [00:14:13] Um you are reporting on the SEAC EU [00:14:17] summit this week which is an alternative [00:14:19] to the summit of the Americas. So can [00:14:21] you speak about this please? [00:14:24] Well, I wouldn't say it's an alternative [00:14:26] or that's one way to say it, but another [00:14:28] way to say it is that it's becoming the [00:14:30] main regional integration uh mechanism [00:14:33] or the mechanism through which seac [00:14:36] governments which is the governments of [00:14:38] the Caribbean and Latin America can [00:14:41] speak to one another, cooperate with one [00:14:43] another uh without the presence of the [00:14:46] US, Canada and Europe or any other [00:14:48] foreign arbiter. It's just this region. [00:14:51] And so it's really important what [00:14:53] happened as Ellen said is that we saw [00:14:56] this week the failure and collapse of [00:14:59] the Summit of the Americas. It is the [00:15:01] OAS Summit of the Americas. It's hosted [00:15:04] by the Organization of American States. [00:15:06] an organization which is failing, dying, [00:15:10] soon to be defunct largely because it [00:15:13] lost legitimacy when Luis Almagro, the [00:15:17] former secretary general, interfered in [00:15:20] the elections in Bolivia and which led [00:15:23] to a coup to overthrow President Evo [00:15:26] Morales. And so that was a huge turning [00:15:28] point. It was already a delegitimized [00:15:32] organization because Cuba was not a part [00:15:34] of it and because in 2017 Venezuela [00:15:37] announced its intention to leave the OAS [00:15:40] and since then Nicaragua has also left [00:15:42] and Bolivia should have left. [00:15:44] Nevertheless, a lot of members of the [00:15:47] Latin American and Caribbean uh members [00:15:50] of OAS had denounced the OAS's [00:15:53] involvement in Bolivia. And now that um [00:15:56] organization doesn't really serve any [00:15:58] purpose except to largely to intervene [00:16:00] in the countries of our region. Um and [00:16:04] again uh it deres the majority of its [00:16:06] funding not only from Washington but to [00:16:09] a lesser degree but more so than the [00:16:12] amount of money that's coming from Latin [00:16:13] American and the Caribbean uh states. [00:16:15] It's deriving its funding funding from [00:16:17] foreign European countries. Those [00:16:20] governments are what's funding the [00:16:22] organization of American states. It [00:16:24] doesn't make any sense. Why do we have [00:16:26] foreign governments? they actually have [00:16:29] seats as observers in the process that's [00:16:32] supposed to be for Americans. That is [00:16:34] people from our Americas that goes from [00:16:37] uh you know Canada all the way to Chile [00:16:40] and Argentina. It's absolutely absurd. [00:16:42] So as Ellen said, it's really important [00:16:44] to say that that was a huge failure that [00:16:47] they tried to exclude these countries [00:16:49] and that we saw other uh leaders [00:16:52] boycotting it outright. In contrast, [00:16:55] President Pro is going to be hosting the [00:16:58] Salac EU summit in Santa Marta, which is [00:17:01] on the Caribbean coast of Colombia. And [00:17:05] it's expected to uh see the attendance [00:17:08] of presidents and heads of state from [00:17:11] all over the Caribbean, Latin America, [00:17:13] and also uh from Europe because it's uh [00:17:17] it's a joint seac EU summit. So, it's [00:17:20] going to be a very important forum. At [00:17:22] the same time there's going to be a [00:17:23] business forum and at the same time [00:17:26] there will be uh the Gmbre de los pueblo [00:17:31] the summit of the peoples of Latin [00:17:34] America and the Caribbean which will [00:17:36] also be hosted in Santa Marta that will [00:17:39] host something like 1,200 [00:17:42] uh representatives of social movements [00:17:44] and political parties uh and and and [00:17:47] different organizations from Colombia [00:17:50] and from all around Latin America. in [00:17:51] the Caribbean. And this is a really [00:17:54] important time for this to be happening. [00:17:56] If you heard the statements of uh [00:17:59] President Lula, [00:18:01] who a lot of times has been uh at best [00:18:05] wishy-washy or unclear about his [00:18:08] position on Venezuela, he said yesterday [00:18:11] that this slack EU summit only makes [00:18:15] sense and it should only be held if [00:18:17] we're going to deal with the issue of [00:18:20] the strikes by the United States at sea, [00:18:23] which represent a threat to our [00:18:26] sovereigny. [00:18:27] and the peace of this region. And I have [00:18:29] to concur with that that it absolutely [00:18:31] doesn't make sense to be meeting all of [00:18:33] these countries, the 33 members of seac [00:18:37] as well as um the countries of the EU [00:18:40] and not deal with the biggest issue [00:18:43] today. This is what happens a lot of [00:18:45] times when these countries and these [00:18:47] governments meet. They avoid the [00:18:49] elephant in the room absurdly uh to an [00:18:52] absurd degree. They they sit there and [00:18:55] talk about all these different things [00:18:57] which in at other times might be [00:18:59] important such as trade, such as other [00:19:01] forms of cooperation. But the big news [00:19:03] right now, which is headlining and [00:19:05] dominating around the world for the last [00:19:07] two months, is that a terrorist entity, [00:19:10] the United States, is going into the [00:19:12] Caribbean Sea, and shooting down vessels [00:19:16] without any sort of due process uh in [00:19:19] violation of international law and the [00:19:21] human rights of those people who are on [00:19:23] board those vessels. We don't know what [00:19:25] they're precisely being accused of, and [00:19:28] we don't know their identities. This [00:19:30] information is not being released to any [00:19:33] US media outlets or journalists through [00:19:35] the government. And so we don't actually [00:19:38] know. We just have to take them for [00:19:40] their word. But we know that at the same [00:19:42] time it's being accompanied by all of [00:19:44] these threats to overthrow the [00:19:47] democratically elected leader of a [00:19:49] country which is President Maduro. And [00:19:52] so this is what needs to be dealt with [00:19:54] at this slack EU summit. And I'm sure [00:19:58] that President Petrol will put it on the [00:20:00] agenda because he's been very outspoken [00:20:02] about it. Outspoken to the point where [00:20:04] now he too is uh a sanctioned leader. Uh [00:20:08] he has sanctions on his person. There's [00:20:11] not sanctions uh necessarily on [00:20:13] Colombia, the way in which we see [00:20:15] economic sanctions placed on the the [00:20:17] different countries, Venezuela, Cuba, [00:20:19] and Nicaragua in particular. But he and [00:20:22] members of his family and his interior [00:20:24] minister have now been sanctioned for [00:20:27] some of the positions he's taken and [00:20:29] some of the ways in which he's spoken [00:20:30] out against so-called Israel in favor of [00:20:34] Palestine uh and its liberation of its [00:20:36] peoples and also for the way in which [00:20:40] President Pro came into office and [00:20:43] immediately reestablished diplomatic [00:20:45] relations with Venezuela, reopened the [00:20:48] border and made it so that there could [00:20:51] um a stronger state presence in that [00:20:55] area which was an area of the Venezuela [00:20:58] Colia border of complete lawlessness [00:21:00] where the paramilitary groups and drug [00:21:02] cartels were actually uh doing quite [00:21:05] well during Yvon Duke's years the former [00:21:07] president of Colombia. Uh so this [00:21:10] morning I attended a press conference of [00:21:12] uh one of the major unions of Colombia [00:21:15] uh the coup and uh some of the sort of [00:21:20] leading or convening organizations of [00:21:22] this social movement uh summit that's [00:21:25] going to be taking place parallel to the [00:21:27] SAC EU summit and they made it very [00:21:29] clear that they are going to pressure [00:21:32] these governments to ensure that the [00:21:34] social movements and the organizations [00:21:36] voice is heard by the summit. to ensure [00:21:39] that they deal with this issue which is [00:21:42] the attack on the sovereignty of of [00:21:46] these countries of the region and the [00:21:48] attack on the Bolivarian revolution and [00:21:50] process there by the United States that [00:21:53] this is the most pressing issue uh right [00:21:56] now that needs to be dealt with at this [00:21:59] um at this summit and we're going to see [00:22:02] leaders from the Caribbean of course uh [00:22:04] some of them have already uh confirmed [00:22:07] including Mia Mley This will be taking [00:22:09] place on uh Sunday and Monday uh the [00:22:12] heads of state summit that is and uh [00:22:15] they a lot of a lot of these leaders [00:22:18] have already condemned the US uh [00:22:20] terrorism that's taking place. So it [00:22:22] will be very interesting to see the way [00:22:24] in which they actually deal with this [00:22:26] because right now it is the [00:22:28] responsibility of Salac to make sure [00:22:30] that they stand up to this gross [00:22:33] hostility and this rogue uh action of [00:22:36] the rogue uh US state [00:22:39] >> and you mentioned just this [00:22:41] transformation of Gustavo Petro. I think [00:22:43] right now uh Trump has even expressed [00:22:46] that he's super frustrated that Gustavo [00:22:49] Petro Colombia's president will not [00:22:51] allow Washington to use the Colombian [00:22:54] military to participate in any sort of [00:22:56] regime change and so what have you made [00:22:59] of this development and what is the mood [00:23:01] like in Colombia specifically in terms [00:23:04] of this new leadership and this buildup [00:23:07] to uh you know this US war to Venezuela [00:23:11] considering that Venezuela or Colombia [00:23:14] has been a client state of the United [00:23:15] States in the past and now Gustava is [00:23:18] kind of transforming it to more of a [00:23:20] resistance state. [00:23:24] >> Well, President Pro characterizes [00:23:27] himself as a progressive and that's also [00:23:29] how he's being characterized by a lot of [00:23:32] his base, a lot of his followers. uh not [00:23:35] so much as um someone who is prepared to [00:23:38] lead a process the way in which [00:23:42] President Maduro has led the Bolivarian [00:23:44] uh revolution alongside its other [00:23:46] leaders Jo Cabo, Jorge Rodriguez and so [00:23:50] forth in Venezuela. But they have made [00:23:53] important changes from the very outset [00:23:56] when they came into power and decided to [00:23:58] go after the heads of the criminal [00:24:01] organizations in this country and deploy [00:24:05] the uh or deploy the armed forces of [00:24:07] Colombia to make it increasingly [00:24:10] difficult for these criminal cartels to [00:24:13] operate here and to use their [00:24:15] traditional uh drug shipping routes. Now [00:24:18] they have to go through uh lawless [00:24:20] places like Ecuador uh under the US [00:24:23] puppet Danielle Nooboa to be able to [00:24:25] ship those drugs all around the world um [00:24:28] through every other uh path but not [00:24:31] through Venezuela. Just to just to touch [00:24:33] on Venezuela again, um the Boulevard [00:24:38] National Armed Forces have made uh [00:24:40] progress as well because it is a very [00:24:43] large and porous border between [00:24:46] Venezuela and Colombia. Uh you know, [00:24:50] people in the US might know the distance [00:24:54] uh between the US and Mexico and that [00:24:58] border. Uh Venezuela has much larger [00:25:00] international borders to deal with on [00:25:02] multiple sides. And in recent weeks, the [00:25:06] armed forces of Venezuela were able to [00:25:09] uh dismantle what appeared to be ELN [00:25:12] camps in the country uh on uh in more [00:25:16] than one location. [00:25:18] They showed pictures through their [00:25:21] Telegram accounts of what appeared to be [00:25:25] uh weapons and uh uniforms and other [00:25:29] things that pertain to the ELN. And they [00:25:32] of course do so uh citing the [00:25:34] constitution of the Bolivaran Republic [00:25:36] that says that the territory can never [00:25:38] be seated, transferred, leased or any [00:25:41] way alienated even temporarily or or [00:25:45] partially to foreign states or other [00:25:48] subjects of international law. And that [00:25:51] the Venezuelan geographic space is a [00:25:54] zone of peace. No foreign military bases [00:25:56] or installations with any military [00:25:58] purpose which these are armed groups may [00:26:02] be established [00:26:03] uh therein by any power or coalition of [00:26:07] powers that threatens the Venezuelan [00:26:10] state. So without any distinction of who [00:26:14] the groups are or what their political [00:26:16] ideology is, Venezuela has the [00:26:19] responsibility [00:26:20] of uh making sure that there are no [00:26:23] foreign groups or armed groups operating [00:26:27] in its territory and it's doing that [00:26:29] right now and that's really important. [00:26:31] So on both sides of the border there [00:26:33] have been advances in taking control of [00:26:37] their uh respective territories and on [00:26:41] the Colombian side Gustavo Petro has a [00:26:44] lot of support uh to the point where his [00:26:48] possible successor Ivan Cepe who will be [00:26:51] running as the presidential candidate [00:26:54] for the BTO Historic Rico next year [00:26:56] seems to be the front runner. And this [00:26:59] is a big reason why Colombia is now in [00:27:02] the crosshairs of all of this is because [00:27:05] approval for President Pro throughout [00:27:07] his administration has maintained uh for [00:27:11] the most part and he is going to be [00:27:15] succeeded by a very popular leader in [00:27:18] this country who has also stood up to [00:27:22] this narco right-wing paramilitary like [00:27:25] political oligarchical alliance in the [00:27:27] country and in in that case it seems as [00:27:31] if they have a very strong chance of [00:27:33] winning the presidential elections in [00:27:35] 2026 and that is a complete nightmare [00:27:38] for the United States. They know that in [00:27:41] order to revert the country to the hands [00:27:44] of the oligarchs who are very closely [00:27:48] linked with Marco Rubio, with the [00:27:51] right-wing uh Florida lawmakers in the [00:27:54] United States and others in Washington, [00:27:56] that they're going to need to really [00:28:00] expand this campaign against President [00:28:02] Pro and against the left here in [00:28:05] Colombia to ensure that they don't hold [00:28:07] on to power for another period. And so [00:28:10] that's what we're seeing right now here [00:28:12] in Colombia. There's a very strong [00:28:15] propaganda campaign against the [00:28:16] president in every way conceivable. The [00:28:20] sort of anti prop the anti- Venezuela [00:28:23] propaganda that you see on the news and [00:28:25] the mainstream media, we see tons of it [00:28:27] here in Colombia. They are attacking [00:28:29] President Pro in every way possible, [00:28:32] trying to delegitimize even the hosting [00:28:34] of the Salac Summit, saying that all of [00:28:36] the foreign leaders are cancelling, [00:28:38] which is not true. They are going to [00:28:40] attend. they are going to participate. [00:28:43] um and spreading all sorts of false [00:28:45] rumors and of course trying to uh uh [00:28:51] trying to use this claim that has been [00:28:53] used forever and ever that the left and [00:28:56] socialists in Latin America and Colombia [00:28:58] in particular is tied with narot [00:29:01] trafficking uh which is absolutely [00:29:04] categorically false uh to try to [00:29:06] delegitimize uh the president and make [00:29:09] it more difficult uh including with the [00:29:11] sanctions [00:29:12] what they want to do with the sanctions [00:29:16] uh which make it very difficult for [00:29:18] banks here in Colombia and [00:29:20] internationally or anyone to uh uh have [00:29:24] any sort of contracts or any dealings or [00:29:28] financial transactions with the [00:29:30] president even after he he's completes [00:29:34] his uh his mandate as president is they [00:29:37] want to make it so that people distance [00:29:39] themselves out of fear [00:29:42] for, you know, secondary sanctions or [00:29:44] any other repercussions on themselves [00:29:46] and make it so that they can eventually [00:29:49] try to uh cause uh some sort of uh [00:29:53] factioning or splinters within the [00:29:56] left-wing movement uh and the left-wing [00:29:59] uh political parties here in Colombia. [00:30:01] Hopefully, it's not going to work. And [00:30:04] hopefully people see the similarities [00:30:06] between the attacks on President Pro and [00:30:09] the left in Colombia now and the years, [00:30:12] if not decades of slander and propaganda [00:30:15] against our leaders in other countries. [00:30:17] It's the same sort of propaganda [00:30:19] campaigns that Nicaragua, Cuba, and [00:30:21] Venezuela have been subject to, but even [00:30:23] Rafael Korea in Ecuador and other [00:30:26] countries. And another just to end on a [00:30:29] final point, a really important thing [00:30:31] that President Petro said yesterday was [00:30:34] that part of why this is happening to [00:30:36] him that the US has become so hostile [00:30:38] with him is because he refused to uh [00:30:42] purchase US uh aircraft, military [00:30:46] aircraft from the United States and he [00:30:48] went with um some European ones and he [00:30:52] said that's exactly what happened to [00:30:53] Lula. I believe he was referring to [00:30:55] that's what happened to Dilma and that's [00:30:57] what that's why Dilma and the PT [00:30:59] government uh fell to a coup in 2016. [00:31:04] But that is precisely the case that the [00:31:06] United States doesn't like when a [00:31:08] country makes its own sovereign [00:31:10] decisions, its own economic decisions, [00:31:12] buys military aircraft from other [00:31:14] countries and things like that. And so [00:31:16] this is all part of why uh he he's on [00:31:18] their blacklist now. [00:31:20] >> Oh, absolutely. I mean, you break the [00:31:22] dollar, you break our military. We break [00:31:24] your country. I mean, that's should [00:31:26] become the the new motto of uh the [00:31:28] United States military and government. [00:31:31] But, you know, it's really interesting [00:31:32] to see this transformation of Colombia [00:31:34] with this new leadership because we have [00:31:37] um Gustavo [clears throat] Petra who [00:31:39] just returned from DHA where he met with [00:31:42] Palestinian amputated Palestinian [00:31:44] children. But it wasn't just too long [00:31:46] ago where Colombia was actually [00:31:48] described as the Israel of Latin [00:31:50] America. And you talked a lot, Camila, [00:31:53] about the borders between Colombia and [00:31:55] Venezuela. And obviously Colombia has [00:31:58] been this uh land bridge where the [00:32:00] United States has conducted military [00:32:03] drills. They've I'm, you know, I'm going [00:32:06] to assume that that's where a lot of the [00:32:08] money and weapons went to um opposition [00:32:11] forces. it was through Colombia to [00:32:13] topple the Maduro government. Um maybe [00:32:16] even where the United States [00:32:18] orchestrated some of the coups against [00:32:19] the Venezuelan government and now that [00:32:21] land bridge is being closed. Um so you [00:32:25] know Colombia played a really crucial [00:32:27] role for US for the US military and the [00:32:30] US government to uh conduct these [00:32:33] sabotages [00:32:35] um these sabotaging plans inside of [00:32:37] Latin America. And now Gustavo Gustavo [00:32:40] Petro is putting a stop to that. And so [00:32:44] um you know all of all things Colombia [00:32:46] have changed. Um so could you Allan tell [00:32:50] us more about Colombia's transformation [00:32:53] um over the years and what do you think [00:32:54] will happen next with uh excuse [00:32:56] [clears throat] me with my throat is so [00:32:58] dry. Excuse me guys. Um with um Gustavo [00:33:01] Petro I don't know. I'm smelling some [00:33:04] sort of coup or regime change op coming [00:33:06] to Colombia very soon. [00:33:11] >> Yeah, sure. Um well, I'll answer the [00:33:13] first the last question first, which is [00:33:16] yeah, the United States Pro's uh actions [00:33:18] and his um and his thoughts and his [00:33:21] outbursts and his uh statements and what [00:33:23] he's done over the past few years has [00:33:25] definitely put him in the firing line in [00:33:28] Washington's sites. As you said, [00:33:29] Colombia has changed incredibly over the [00:33:32] past decades. [00:33:34] We were talking about a country that for [00:33:36] the longest time and you know to a [00:33:38] certain extent still is called the [00:33:39] Israel of Latin America. President Hugo [00:33:41] Chavez of Venezuela called them that. [00:33:44] And what he meant by that was that [00:33:45] Colombia serves uh the United States [00:33:49] Empire's uh role in Latin America very [00:33:51] much like how Israel serves its uh role [00:33:54] in the Middle East being a regional [00:33:56] outpost of empire. Colombia was the [00:34:00] staging ground for uh many coups and uh [00:34:05] different uh military operations in uh [00:34:07] in South America. Colombian mercenaries [00:34:10] are who are, you know, linked to the [00:34:13] drug trade, as Camila was talking about [00:34:15] earlier, are constantly used for a lot [00:34:17] of the dirty work in Latin America. And [00:34:20] Colombia and Israel have had very close [00:34:22] ties uh throughout the 20th and early [00:34:24] 21st centuries. So much so that somebody [00:34:27] like Juan Manuel Santos, who was [00:34:29] president of Colombia, can appear in an [00:34:32] Israeli an ad for an Israeli mercenary [00:34:34] company in Colombia while he is still [00:34:37] president. And that is just seen as [00:34:39] normal in the country. That's because [00:34:42] the Colombian military uses Israeli [00:34:44] weapons. They drive around in Israeli [00:34:46] tanks. Uh they use Israeli armor. They [00:34:49] are trained by former IDF and um Mossad [00:34:53] agents, people like um Yayer Kleim, the [00:34:56] very famous um Israeli uh mercenary who [00:35:00] was crucial in training up all of these [00:35:03] um Colombian farright paramilitaries [00:35:05] like the AU and the Black Eagles and uh [00:35:08] yeah and other ones. So Colombia and um [00:35:13] Israel have these longstanding ties. A [00:35:16] lot of the previous governments in [00:35:17] Colombia had shared um very similar [00:35:20] outlook on how the economy and how [00:35:22] society should be organized. It was one [00:35:24] of uh Israel's key defenders in the [00:35:26] region in a region which has generally [00:35:29] been very pro Palestine. [00:35:32] And all that's really changed in the [00:35:34] past few years because Gustavo Petro is [00:35:36] the first leftwing president in [00:35:38] Colombia's history and has flipped that [00:35:40] on his on his head. And instead of [00:35:42] taking a consiliary, a consiliary tone [00:35:46] as many uh as many soft left um [00:35:50] presidents do when they get into power, [00:35:52] he's actually really stood up for what [00:35:53] he believes in and has fought the power. [00:35:55] And he is seemingly unwilling to go [00:35:58] quietly and uh make peace with these [00:36:00] sorts of uh powerful forces. He seems to [00:36:02] really want to stand up for what he [00:36:04] believes in and the public is going with [00:36:06] it. And you see in um in opinion poll [00:36:10] after opinion poll, despite the enormous [00:36:12] propaganda campaign that Camila was [00:36:14] talking about against pro, his opinion [00:36:17] uh ratings in Colombia continue to rise [00:36:20] well into the 60s. I mean, you can only [00:36:23] imagine an American president with a [00:36:25] permanent 60 to almost 70% approval [00:36:27] rating. is almost impossible to think [00:36:30] of. But that's the sort of um uh [00:36:32] coalition he has been managing to muster [00:36:35] and to uh bring about and part of that [00:36:38] is because of his principal stance [00:36:40] against intervention. He doesn't want to [00:36:41] see a US intervention in Venezuela. He [00:36:44] doesn't want to see lawfare being [00:36:46] carried out across the continent uh [00:36:49] replacing democratically elected [00:36:51] governments with uh US backed ones. And [00:36:54] so pro uh continues to his uh popularity [00:36:58] continues to increase and as Camila said [00:37:01] he can't become president next time [00:37:03] because of the term limits in Colombia [00:37:05] but his uh successor looks to be even [00:37:08] Ian Sepeda who might even be more [00:37:10] radical than him. So Colombia is a [00:37:13] country in serious flux and serious [00:37:15] change and it's one that many people [00:37:17] around the world are looking at uh as an [00:37:19] inspiration [00:37:21] >> and I [clears throat] do think that uh [00:37:23] Mexico is seeing also a bit of a [00:37:25] transformation with the last two [00:37:27] leaders. Um currently we have Claudia [00:37:30] Sheenbomb of I think I'm pronouncing her [00:37:32] name correctly of Mexico is also pushing [00:37:34] back against um Trump's policies both [00:37:38] against her own Mexican nation and in [00:37:41] the region. Um she refused to attend the [00:37:44] summit for the Americas because of the [00:37:47] United States buildup inside of the [00:37:49] Caribbean. What can you tell us uh [00:37:51] Camila about Claudia, President Claudia [00:37:53] of Mexico and um you know the push back [00:37:57] that Mexico is showing in the face of US [00:38:01] imperialism in the region. [00:38:05] >> Well, Mexico is continuing its [00:38:08] transformation process and they have [00:38:12] really important infrastructure projects [00:38:15] underway. a lot of just important [00:38:18] transformations and that is that is at [00:38:21] the center of why these last two [00:38:24] administrations of uh of Amllo and now [00:38:28] Shine Bomb are so popular. And so there [00:38:31] have been extreme attempts to try to [00:38:33] delegitimize these governments for uh [00:38:37] their very uh first of all their very [00:38:40] diplomatic uh approach to the region and [00:38:43] the way in which they have not gone [00:38:46] along with the hostile attacks against [00:38:50] Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela and they [00:38:54] are now finding themselves in the [00:38:56] crosshairs of US hostility because of [00:38:59] these positions. [00:39:01] Uh there's a lawmaker named uh Himenez. [00:39:05] I can't think of his his first name in [00:39:07] the United States, but he is uh [00:39:10] introducing legislation right now [00:39:12] against uh Mexico for aiding Cuba and [00:39:16] for maintaining and legitimizing that uh [00:39:19] relationship with the Cuban government. [00:39:22] So the United States is absolutely [00:39:24] desperate right now to try to uh you [00:39:28] know undermine any government or attack [00:39:31] any government which is friendly or in [00:39:34] any way just neutral on these different [00:39:37] governments of the region that it's [00:39:39] trying to overthrow because ultimately [00:39:42] the US is trying to attack not just [00:39:44] Venezuela but also as Alan said earlier [00:39:47] Cuba that's you know at least part two [00:39:51] uh if not uh one of the points along uh [00:39:54] you know the the agenda that that Marco [00:39:56] Rubio has as Secretary of State right [00:39:59] now. And so they're going to be going [00:40:01] after uh President Claudia for uh not [00:40:05] going along with uh these US objectives [00:40:08] in the region. that they find themselves [00:40:10] in a very difficult place because they [00:40:12] are a US neighbor and they also have the [00:40:15] presence of the United States within [00:40:17] their own borders and also represented [00:40:19] the US uh interests are represented [00:40:22] through some of the oligarchs and [00:40:24] right-wing parties in Mexico which are [00:40:27] operating with foreign funding as well [00:40:29] something that Claudia has tried to [00:40:32] crack down on [00:40:33] >> and I just want to end the conversation [00:40:35] with one last question here which is [00:40:37] there seems to be significant opposition [00:40:40] to any sort of US invasion uh of [00:40:43] Venezuela. So I do want to bring this [00:40:44] conversation back to Venezuela. Um right [00:40:47] now we have Admiral Alvin Holy who has [00:40:51] resigned from his post as head of the US [00:40:54] Southern Command. Uh this happened last [00:40:56] month amid widespread speculation of his [00:40:59] reluctance to you know carry out Trump's [00:41:02] plan. That's why we believe that he [00:41:04] stepped down. And um you know, we've [00:41:07] been sitting kind of at the edge of our [00:41:09] seat right now. The Trump administration [00:41:11] last weekend said, you know, the US [00:41:13] military could strike Venezuela any [00:41:16] minute now. So Allan, um maybe you know, [00:41:19] well, I'll ask both of you guys this [00:41:21] question, but we'll start with Alan. How [00:41:22] likely do you think a full US invasion [00:41:25] would be? I mean, would air strikes be a [00:41:28] more believable option right now? [00:41:34] >> Um yeah. Well, the Trump administration [00:41:36] has moved thousands of troops to the [00:41:39] Caribbean and is currently moving its [00:41:42] largest aircraft carrier in its fleet [00:41:44] over to uh that region as well. However, [00:41:47] that's clearly not enough uh soldiers [00:41:50] and forces more generally to actually [00:41:53] mount uh an invasion of such a large [00:41:56] country, especially one with such a [00:41:58] large military and millions of people in [00:42:00] militias as well. So I think right now [00:42:04] the way that they are being so [00:42:06] aggressive and so strong kind of um it [00:42:10] likely um suggests uh a sort of strong [00:42:13] while weak, weak while strong, the sort [00:42:14] of thing that a dumb guy does in poker [00:42:16] when he, you know, pretends he's very uh [00:42:18] strong. My sense is they're probably [00:42:21] trying to probe Venezuela for cracks, [00:42:23] trying to find fissures among the [00:42:25] military, hoping that perhaps forces [00:42:27] inside Venezuela or perhaps uh in their [00:42:30] neighbors will do their uh job for them. [00:42:35] Um, I'm certainly thinking that uh [00:42:37] strikes against Venezuela are a distinct [00:42:39] possibility because we've already seen [00:42:42] that uh the Trump administration has no [00:42:44] problems and no qualms whatsoever about [00:42:46] firing on civilian vessels with zero [00:42:49] evidence that they are involved in [00:42:51] anything shady uh even as even if that [00:42:54] would be a justification. So clearly the [00:42:58] Trump administration is trying to [00:42:59] provoke something and in fact recently [00:43:02] Maduro came out and said that the [00:43:03] Venezuelan uh government the authorities [00:43:06] there had actually prevented a false [00:43:08] flag operation uh against American uh [00:43:12] shipping um presumably in a sort of Gulf [00:43:15] of Tomkin incident or remember the main [00:43:17] incident trying to get the United States [00:43:20] into its next forever war. Um Trump, as [00:43:24] you said earlier, has um authorized the [00:43:27] CIA to carry out lethal operations [00:43:29] against Venezuela. So, the situation is [00:43:31] absolutely serious and absolutely [00:43:33] perilous. But if Trump thinks that this [00:43:36] is going to be uh another Iraq and it's [00:43:38] going to be an easy win or another Libya [00:43:40] where the government will fall quickly, [00:43:42] uh that's not going to be the case. the [00:43:44] Venezuelan public only 3% of them in a [00:43:47] recent poll suggest uh said that they [00:43:49] favor an invasion and the vast majority [00:43:52] were categorically against it. So if the [00:43:56] United States does invade Venezuela, it [00:43:58] might turn into their next Vietnam, [00:43:59] another quagmire where [00:44:02] huge numbers of Americans and countless [00:44:04] Venezuelans uh will die and it might [00:44:07] take years and years and they'll achieve [00:44:09] absolutely nothing. So, uh, we can only [00:44:11] hope for peace, but we do have to [00:44:13] prepare for war knowing what Washington [00:44:15] is capable of because we're analysts and [00:44:18] we've watched this for our whole lives. [00:44:21] >> The difficult thing that Salac will have [00:44:23] to take on this weekend when they meet [00:44:26] is addressing the fact that the United [00:44:28] States continues to have its proxies, [00:44:31] its agents, its puppets here in the [00:44:33] region. And that's really a big part of [00:44:37] the question here. uh this military [00:44:40] buildup is only possible in this [00:44:44] extensive form that we're seeing right [00:44:46] now because the governments of Trinidad [00:44:49] and Tobago, the governments of Guyana [00:44:51] and Panama right now uh and even Jamaica [00:44:55] are allowing the United States to use [00:44:57] their territories as military bases uh [00:45:01] for extended periods of time if not uh [00:45:04] for year round use. but in particular [00:45:07] right now with uh all of the uh [00:45:10] equipment and troops that we're seeing [00:45:12] as as Alan has mentioned. And so they're [00:45:15] going to have to uh deal with that [00:45:17] question. Not only how do we address the [00:45:20] United States who which is trying to [00:45:23] wage another imperialist war and attack [00:45:26] an innocent country which doesn't have [00:45:28] any real problem, doesn't have any beef [00:45:31] with the United States. they just want [00:45:32] to be left alone and allowed to carry [00:45:35] out their own uh sovereign project, [00:45:39] but also that there are so many willing [00:45:42] uh allies of the United States in this [00:45:44] region who are lending themselves to [00:45:48] this and providing the space for this to [00:45:50] take place uh without any question. And [00:45:53] as Alan mentioned, the false flag that [00:45:58] was uh being planned by uh this US [00:46:02] intelligence by the CIA uh on Trinidad [00:46:06] uh and Tobago's territory uh was, you [00:46:10] know, done so because they have [00:46:12] permission to do what they want to [00:46:14] there. They are trying to create a [00:46:16] scenario in which uh they make it seem [00:46:20] as if uh some attack happens or some [00:46:23] some sort of uh attack on a US uh you [00:46:28] know military asset there and blame it [00:46:31] on Venezuela and use that as the [00:46:35] justification for a strike on uh [00:46:38] Venezuelan land despite that. By the [00:46:41] way, people in the United States, [00:46:43] according to the Yuggov survey, which [00:46:44] was just carried out, uh overwhelmingly [00:46:48] do not support uh strikes on land [00:46:51] targets in Venezuela, an invasion of [00:46:53] Venezuela, or anything of the sort. Uh [00:46:57] neither Democrats or Republicans. And [00:47:00] so, [00:47:01] uh they're supporters, that is voters, [00:47:04] not uh not to not speak of, uh [00:47:08] politicians themselves. [00:47:10] >> [clears throat] [00:47:11] >> And so, uh, you know, this is going to [00:47:13] have to be addressed because, uh, if [00:47:16] you, if you see what people are saying [00:47:18] online, uh, the people of Trinidad and [00:47:21] Tobago, they're not happy with the way [00:47:23] in which their country is being used to [00:47:26] wage a war against a neighboring country [00:47:28] that is just uh, kilometers away from [00:47:31] them. and other other people from the [00:47:34] rest of the Caribbean and Latin America [00:47:35] are saying the same thing that our [00:47:37] country should not allow um our our uh [00:47:41] our territories to be used for war. [00:47:43] They're saying that in Jamaica. They're [00:47:44] saying that in uh Barbados. They're [00:47:47] saying that in St. Vincent and the [00:47:48] Gretendines, etc. And so these are some [00:47:51] of the questions that are going to have [00:47:53] to be uh put on the table and discussed [00:47:55] this week in Salac is how do we protect [00:47:58] ourselves from a new war coming to our [00:48:02] region? We've already seen uh this [00:48:05] military foreign occupation in Haiti [00:48:08] which has been going on some time and we [00:48:10] see the United States uh you know put [00:48:12] down its tentacles and Southcom occupy [00:48:15] different areas of Latin America [00:48:18] including Colombia but we haven't seen [00:48:20] an actual land invasion and bombing uh [00:48:24] for some time. the last being the [00:48:26] bombing of Panama City um in 1989 and [00:48:29] previous to that uh the invasion and [00:48:32] attack on Grenada. And so um that's [00:48:36] what's being that's what needs to be [00:48:37] discussed right now. Uh all of this has [00:48:40] nothing to do with uh with what they're [00:48:46] saying now drug trafficking or the fight [00:48:49] against uh fentinyl. Clearly it has [00:48:52] everything to do with oil. It has [00:48:54] everything to do with gaining access to [00:48:57] the natural resources of our continent. [00:49:00] First being the oil reserves of [00:49:02] Venezuela and Guyana and Surinam and [00:49:05] Trinidad. and then um and then the rest [00:49:08] of the resources and also making sure [00:49:11] that Alba, the Bolivarian alliance, no [00:49:13] longer has any capacity to influence uh [00:49:17] this region of the world and also [00:49:20] conduct its own relations with or carry [00:49:22] out its own relations with other [00:49:24] countries of the global south. Something [00:49:26] that uh President Maduro has been [00:49:28] advocating for. He is a strong proponent [00:49:31] of a multi-polar world um and a world in [00:49:35] which uh you know the United States does [00:49:38] no longer dominates. They are fighting [00:49:40] against neoc colonialism against [00:49:42] imperialism and for the right for each [00:49:45] country and people to be able to decide [00:49:47] how they want to uh live their lives how [00:49:50] they want to organize their society and [00:49:52] their economy. In the case of Venezuela [00:49:54] it's towards socialism. They're building [00:49:57] Bolivarian socialism, you know, led by [00:50:00] previously uh Ugo Chavez now, uh the the [00:50:04] Chavistas, and that's all they want. [00:50:06] They just want to be left alone, but the [00:50:08] United States will not allow it. [00:50:11] And it's so important to hear um [00:50:14] someone's perspective like yours uh [00:50:16] based on your experience living in the [00:50:18] global south, living in these South [00:50:20] American countries and seeing firsthand [00:50:22] uh Camila, you have seen firsthand the [00:50:24] just the devastation of US imperialism [00:50:27] on these nations. It's so refreshing to [00:50:30] hear um you know your reporting and you [00:50:33] educating us about the true realities on [00:50:36] the ground because you know we are [00:50:37] bombarded with US corporate media [00:50:40] propaganda that paints this really bad [00:50:44] picture about what socialism is um in [00:50:47] South America. I mean we have headline [00:50:48] after headline always saying you know [00:50:50] look at look at Venezuela that people [00:50:53] are starving there because of socialism. [00:50:55] Look at you know the the food shelves [00:50:56] are empty. all of these things. Of [00:50:58] course, I traveled to Venezuela. I've [00:51:00] seen with my own eyes that the people [00:51:02] there are living a good life under the [00:51:04] uh Bolivarian revolution. But what I did [00:51:07] see is a devastation of the economy [00:51:09] there, not because of socialism, but [00:51:11] because of um the uh because of US [00:51:15] sanctions and sabotage. And so that's [00:51:17] really the the context that's really [00:51:19] missing from this conversation when it [00:51:21] comes to like US corporate media [00:51:23] coverage. But anyways, thank you both [00:51:26] for being here. Alan Mloud is also an [00:51:28] expert on US propaganda [music] against [00:51:31] uh Venezuela. He wrote a whole book [00:51:33] about it. So, everyone needs to check [00:51:34] that out. I mentioned it in my intro. [00:51:36] [music] [00:51:37] And it's just really an honor to have [00:51:39] you both here educating us about this [00:51:42] situation. So, thank you so much. [00:51:46] [music]